Environmental Issues

Forests are vital to not only human life and existence, but also to the existence of millions of other land and aquatic species. Trees store carbon and use carbon dioxide drawn from the atmosphere thereby keeping in check the amount of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide present in the atmosphere at any given time. During photosynthesis, plants also release oxygen which is important for plant and animal life. Forests also host thousands of species which are of great value to the pharmaceutical industry (Unit 25). The presence or absence of forests has a bearing on the frequency and density of precipitation falling in any part of the earth surface.  Despite the widespread recognition of the importance of forests to human, animal and plant life, hundreds or possibly thousands, of hectares of forest are lost through deliberate human action every year. While the reasons for this intentional destruction of forests are as complex as they are many, the effect is the loss of thousands of species every year. The pace at which the worlds forest cover has been receding in the last several decades is alarming. For instance, it is estimated as much as 26,000 square kilometres of the Amazon forest are lost in one year (The Guardian Weekly, 2004). With such huge losses of forest cover, it is preditable that thousands of species are becoming extinct every year as a result of deforestation in different parts of the earth. This paper discusses the causes, effects and possible solutions to this most important global problem.

Causes of deforestation
One of the leading causes of deforestation is the need, or the want, to clear forests to create space for agriculture. Both small-scale farmers and large-scale farmers across the world have been cutting down and burning more and more forests to make space for pastures and crop farming (Ruining the Rainforest, 2008). For instance, the beef industry in Brazil and Argentina is flourishing and has been supplying beef markets in South America, the United States of America, and faraway countries in Europe (The Guardian Weekly, 2004). However, the expansion of the beef industry has been at the expense of the Amazon forest, a large part of which is cleared every year to create pasturelands (Urquhart, Chomentowski, Skole  Barber, n.d). That a sizable percentage of the ranches is owned by foreigners and multi-nationals can only mean that the ranchers do not put much premium on the conservation of the Amazon forest. Their principal aim is to make profits.

The second most prominent cause of deforestation is logging. The felling of trees for sale as pulp or timber is rampant and has contributed significantly to the alarming pace of deforestation. Whether done legally or illegally, logging leads to the destruction of both mature and immature trees with little regard of whether the species are endangered. Commercial logging, mostly approved by governments, necessitates the use of earth movers, heavy trucks, bulldozers, and log skidders used to transport the logs and to build roads through the forests. In the process, on top of the trees felled for sale, thousands of others are destroyed to make room for roads while others are crushed by falling trees and the heavy machinery. Governments and loggers make billions of US dollars every year from logging and most are unwilling or unable to regulate the logging activities to ensure that only mature trees are felled, and that cleared forests are replanted (Urquhart, Chomentowski, Skole  Barber, n.d).

Effects of deforestation
An important impact of deforestation has been the wanton loss of plant and animal species. Forests are home to tens of millions of species, most of which are yet to be given names or studied by scientists. An estimated 10 percent of all known species are supported by the Amazon rainforest, on which depends more than 15 million people (Ruining the Rainforest, 2008). When the forests are cleared, some species are decimated directly while others die off due to loss of habitat and food.  Experts estimate that about 137 species are lost everyday and deforestation is responsible for much of these losses (Urquhart, Chomentowski, Skole  Barber, n.d). These means that if no deliberate and drastic action is taken (by governments, national and trans-national corporations, civil society and individuals) to arrest the rate of biodiversity loss, the earth will be losing hundreds of thousands of species every year as a result of deforestation.

The second effect of deforestation is the interference with the hydrologic cycle and the subsequent alteration of local climates. Trees and other plants are an important part of the hydrologic cycle as they get water from the earth surface to the leaves where it evaporates to form clouds over the areas, resulting in precipitation. When forests are cleared, the conduit for water from the ground to the atmosphere is lost as evapotranspiration cannot happen. The hydrologic cycle is therefore interfered with. Loss of forest cover also exposes the surface and the air immediately above it to direct solar radiation, leading to higher surface temperatures (Urquhart, Chomentowski, Skole  Barber, n.d). Less evaporation discourages the formation of clouds and results in lower amounts and irregular patterns of precipitation.

One of the reasons why the earth supports life is the availability of sufficient oxygen and the significantly low level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Forests play an important role in the regulation of the amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere. Industrial and domestic activities, including combustion of fossil fuels, release huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere leading to global warming. With each acre of tropical forest estimated to store about 180 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, it is evident that deforestation leads to the release of more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and is largely to blame for the rate of global warming (Urquhart, Chomentowski, Skole  Barber, n.d).

Solutions
Governments should steer the process of reversing the current rates of deforestation by discouraging destruction of forests. They can do this by first withdrawing subsidies on all agricultural activities taking place in the forests. This should make it more expensive for farmers to produce crops in the forests and would discourage farmers who rely of government subsidies.

Policy makers also have the role of making stringent and blind rules to protect forests while their governments, through their law enforcement agencies, should enforce these laws without fear (Ruining the rainforest, 2008). It is common for the governments of third world countries to allow investors from the developed world to destroy the formers resources in order to attract more aid and possibly negotiate a debt cancellation deal. To protect forests however, even these developing countries must stand their ground and make it illegal and very costly for foreigners to destroy their forests. Law enforcement agencies should be empowered sufficiently so that they are not intimidated by wealthy investors.

Thirdly, the society should be educated on the need to conserve and take good care of forests. When they are made stakeholders in the process, members of society are not only motivated to take care of existing forests but will also invest time and resources to expand the forest cover by planting more trees.

Conclusion
Forests are an important resource and there is every reason to exploit them just like other resources. However, the rate and manner of exploitation should ensure that its adverse effect on forests is kept as low as possible. Deforestation across the world has led to the loss of thousands of species, alteration of microclimates and interference with the hydrologic cycle now evident in irregular patterns of precipitation. Failure to take deliberate action to stem this trend will lead to the destruction of more forests and the loss of more species, putting even human life in danger. As this paper shows however, there is a wide range of practical solutions available to governments, organizations and individuals interested in arresting or reversing the current rate of deforestation.